Saturday, March 15

Good morning! A lovely breakfast of oatmeal and coffee with five energetic chatty ladies was a wonderful start to the morning in town investigating the tourist center. We got Dorina’s suitcase straightened out and she did get it when she got home. Carolyn added some minutes to the cellphone and now we can make phone calls. After our “chores” were done, we walked up the pedestrian street and did some window shopping.

The Milk Market was just down the street and around the corner, so we wandered around there for a quick 45 minutes. The street immediately outside the market was full of vendors selling an assortment of goods – tools, shoes, toys, candy, and I don’t know what all. Inside the market were all the vendors selling veggies, bread, cheese, cakes, and all kinds of foods. The market is a big open air square lined with small shops, some of which had tables at the market too. It was packed with shoppers, and very very crowded. I did get some fresh cheese; an Irish cheddar, and a Gouda made from goat milk. Ramona brought some delicious rye bread that we enjoyed later at dinner.

After we left the market, we found a pub and ate lunch. Fish of the day, vol au vent (sort of a potpie thing-delish!), fish chowder, and a pannini were enjoyed by the famished crew. At this point we split up, and I went off to the races in Limerick. It wasn’t too far out of town, and I found the track easily enough. It helped that I’d seen signs to the track on the way into Limerick on Friday.

Pulling into the racetrack, you could see all the horsetrailers off to one side. Trainers and owners had their own carpark, as did the punters. I parked in a grass field with lightly graveled roads, that was going to get muddy and soft if it kept on raining. I was envious of the hardpacked gravel carpark the owners and trainers got to park in! It was much closer to the grandstand and race course too.

I paid 15 euro to get in, and the first race was already in the saddling paddock. The horses were already tacked up, with towels over the saddles to keep them dry. I didn’t see the riders come out as I was engrossed in the horses until grooms started removing coolers and towels, and the boys started mounting. They walked another round of the tarmac path on the edge of the saddling paddock, and then each groom took the lead off their horse as they went down the path to track.

I knew they wouldn’t have ponies, but I didn’t realize the horses would come out of the barn already saddled. In the States, the horses come to the paddock with just a bridle on (sometimes with a cooler on too). They walk around the paddock for a few minutes, then go into their numbered stall and the trainer and the boy will saddle the horse while the groom holds the horse (generally standing directly in front of the horse with both hands on the reins, on either side of the horse’s face). The groom leads the horse up to the pony (outrider) and the horse goes off to the track with his lead pony.

The horses went across the track and started loping down a narrow dirt track to the gate. They got to the starting area and milled around walking in a circle in the infield. In a few minutes they walked back onto the track and somewhat lined up, and then started running.

I didn’t get a program, so I don’t really know what kind of race it was. They did go over hurdles (flimsy jumps) and went two or two and a quarter miles – twice around the track and over both sets of hurdles twice as well. There is one pair of hurdles on the backside of the track and one pair in front of the grandstand as well. The second time around you could tell the horses were tired; they pretty much just ran through the hurdles barely jumping over them.

The finish line was just past the hurdles, but I never did pay attention to it, as I was much more interested in seeing them go over the hurdles. By the time the winner crossed the finish line, the trailing horses were just coming down the stretch. Sometimes they didn’t even bother going over the last two hurdles!

The horses came back up to the saddling paddock, where the boys quickly jumped off, and the horses were stripped of their tack. They went back to the barn without coolers, despite the drippy, chilly weather. I watched the first three races, and decided to pack it in; it wasn’t any more exciting than watching the races in the States, and I’m not a gambler.

I was switching lenses on the camera when a young woman sat down, so I chatted with her a bit. Since she was John Cullen’s fiancé, one of the riders, she was at the races to watch him. They’d just come from the races at Cheltenham, a big to-do in England. We talked a little about the differences in racing between the States and Ireland, and then I went back into Limerick.

Hickey’s was calling… Carolyn said they’d seen some fabrics and trims there, and I just couldn’t wait to go shopping. I was thrilled to get a large package of fancy fabrics for 10 Euro, and quarter meter cuts of a number of lace and braid trims. It was very busy, so I’ll be going back for more. It’s really time consuming to cut, and for such small pieces, can be a little irritating, so I thought it’d be nicer to go back when it’s not so busy. I can see why not many people crazy quilt though; I only found the one bag of small remnants. Most remnants were huge; far too much fabric for me to buy. I didn’t see any bags of trim remnants, though I did see the clerk toss a short piece of one that I bought into a bag. So maybe the next time I go back…

I wasn’t quite sure where I’d left the car (I did have a general idea though!) so it took a minute to find it, but I was tired enough that I headed straight home. Soup and salad, bread, a cheese plate, a veg plate, and a glass of wine greeted me. Sometimes it’s wonderful to have roommates!

Milk Market
Limerick horseracing
Hickey’s